Tough case: The one involving children
by loonelydreamerrr
Summary: A domestic violence case lead Sara to bond with a boy called Jack. An exploration of how Grissom and Sara deal with difficult cases as a couple. Casefile/GSR


In a rough neighbourhood in Sin City stood a dilapidated house where a mother and her son, tucked safely in a single bed, were chatting happily.

"So what did you learn in school today?"

"The solar system. Pluto got demoted, it's not a planet anymore. Did you know that?" He looked up at her with his wide green eyes and continued, "The teacher didn't."

"Ah, Little Jacky is smarter than the teacher now, isn't he?" He smirked and then leaned closer to his mother.

"Don't get cocky alright?" she said as she ruffled his hair.

Such heart-warming moments were rare and treasured. As they settled into a comfortable silence, Jack was contemplating about how this moment would end eventually when his father comes back from the bar.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you happy?"

"Jack, I know things have been... bad" she said with a somber expression, suddenly acutely aware of the dull pain at the back of her head and the soreness of the ribs. "But things will get better soon. I promise."

"Can you sleep here tonight?"

The front door creaked, followed by knocks and curses. She could imagine the vulgar stench of alcohol as he comes towards her menacingly and silently hoped that he would just crash on the rotting couch. Unfortunately, the heavy footsteps grew louder and louder before settling in the room next door, rummaging drawers.

"Honey, where is the money? Are you hiding them? Is that what you are doing nowadays? Hiding money from your husband?" His jaw clenched in anger. His wife stood by the door, with a stoic expression. This wasn't the first time. Her little boy was behind her, clutching her shirt. "Go back to your room, Jack. Everything will be fine."

The rummaging continued and found a small booklet, an incriminating evidence of her betrayal. "You've been keeping secrets from me." His bloodshot eyes flashed in anger. His was holding her personal bank book. Her ticket to freedom.

She decided that it was the last straw when he first laid hand on Jack and had been saving money ever since. A couple of years of various temp jobs and painstakingly covering her tracks. That had all gone down the drain now. She could feel hopelessness slowly engulfing her whole being at the thought of him spending every cent and the thought of her restarting this whole process somehow...

It all happened too fast and before she knew it, his hand held a knife. Fiery feelings of dread sank in the pits of her stomach as she went for the gun under the mattress. Realisation that one or both of them won't come out of this alive flooded her consciousness. Her first instinct was to protect her boy. God knows she had let him down for too long. But even in an alcohol induced haze, he was still faster than her, and the next sensation she felt the knife penetrating into her flesh.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she felt each stab, numbing the otherwise excruciating pain. She collapsed on the ground, aware of the coppery taste at the back of her throat. Clinging to life, she struggled to get up, pushing her palms against the floor even as she felt a shoe against her shoulder pushing her down. She felt the warmth leaving her body. The vision of her surroundings morphed into sepia tones. She saw him moved towards Jack, she reached for the gun, just a few feet away and opened fire. And as her boy cries and pleas for her to get up were fading away, she realised she would not watch him grow up.

* * *

'No, Dad... no…" Sara groaned and yelled. Her fist clenched and body rigid as tears seeped through her still-shut eyes.

"Sara… Sara… Wake up. You are having a nightmare…" Grissom nudged her gently.

"Wha… oh…" She sat up, pulled the covers closer to her and pulled out a tissue from the box by the bedside.

"Are you OK?"

"Y...Yeah, I'm fine." She replied, her voice strangled as she wiped out stray tears that were still leaking.

They sat there in silence. Grissom holding her hand and drawing circles with his thumb. Perhaps the silence was too much for her,

"I'll make some coffee."

"You wanna talk about it?"

She knew he wouldn't let it rest. "Not particularly. But if you must know, it's a recurring dream from… you know… His anniversary is in two weeks. You know how dreams are like… The more I think about it during the day, the more likely the contents will appear in my dreams…" She let out a deep sigh and continued, "It's practically seasonal. You don't have to worry, Grissom."

Before Grissom could utter a reply, his cell phone rang.

"Grissom. Ok. I'll call Sara. I'll be there in twenty."

"Got a case."

"Vic's name is Jamie Libby. Paramedics got here after neighbors after hearing a single gunshot. Found her and her husband lying in a pool of blood and a kid sobbing in one corner. Kid's name is Jack, ten years old. Turns out that the husband, Robert Libby, was still hanging by the thread when they got here. He sustained two gunshot wounds to the back. Hospital just informed us that one of the bullets punctured his lung and another lodged into his spine. He's in surgery as we speak." Brass rattled on from his notes.

"And how long more before we know anything about the surgery?" He seemed to realise something awful and said "There's a kid? Where is he now?"

"In the ambulance. Paramedic said he's alright physically. Kid hasn't said a word. Social service is on their way while we are still trying to contact any next-of-kin. Cases like this... " Bass shook his head as the sentence trailed off.

Grissom nodded. From where he was standing, he could see the stab wounds on the victim. Everything seemed to suggest domestic violence. God, what had the boy seen? His heart sank as he thought about the possibilities.

"What have we here, David?"

"Liver temp put time of death at approximately 2 hours ago. Cause of death likely to be multiple stab wounds to the back and abdomen region. She sustained several bruises to her face. He probably punched her frequently." David sighed and continued "We'll know more after the autopsy."  
Sara walked towards him just when he was going to document the gun and shell casing evidence.

"Hey, I just collected shoe prints from the paramedics and sent them to the lab to eliminate them as suspects. Where do you want me now?"

"Uh, I need you to go with the boy to the hospital."

"What? Wa... wait " She recalled their conversation from this morning and added "Is this some warped sense of trying to shield me from... whatever went on here? 'cause I assure you that I can process evidence without-"

"Sara, I need you to process evidence that is on the boy."

* * *

She waited outside the hospital room where the social worker was trying to settle Jack down.

"He's in shock. Hasn't uttered a single word. It's gonna take some time. Listen, I'm going to head up to my office for a while. The nurse is on her way as we speak. Meanwhile, you can collect evidence. She'll bring him up for the X-ray after that."

She walked into the room cautiously, as if loud footsteps might cause the floor to give way. "Hi Jack, I'm CSI Sara Sidle. I'm sorry for your loss. The nurse is on her-"

"Is he dead?"

"Wha- Jack..."

"I saw the paramedics brought my father out of the house with an oxygen mask, which means he was still alive. Do you know if he is still alive?"

"Yes. He's alive. But he's critical. Doctors are still working on him. It's... it's not looking good. " she continued, "Jack, do you want to..."

"No."

After collecting his clothes, and his photographs taken, it was time for his X-rays. Her job was done. But as she was labeling the evidence and double checking things, she heard him said,

"Can you stay?"

"Huh-"

"For a while. Can you? It's okay if you're-"

"Yeah. I can stay." She cut him off and agreed. After all, chain of custody would not be broken.  
This time the evidence can wait.

* * *

Sara went home to see Grissom reading on the bed.

"Hey." She said as she climbed in and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hey" he replied and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"What have you found out about the case?"

"Well, the autopsy report showed that Mrs Libby was abused by her husband. Bruises were everywhere. Two recent broken ribs. This is highly likely to be a fight that had gone really bad. We found her personal bank book. She probably was planning to run away. He found out and stabbed her. She shot him before she bled out." He sighed and continued, "So how's the boy?"

"I sent his clothes to the lab. From what I tell, the blood on it is mainly transfer. His body suffered bruises of various stages; he was obviously abused too. The doctor X-rayed him to find out the rest."

"What about the husband?"

"They managed to remove the bullet in the lung but not the spine. He's still critical. If he makes it, he probably won't walk again."Sara nodded and fell silent. She was thinking about Jack's question about his father's status.

"I want to see Jack again."

"I thought you collected all the evidence already?"

"I did. I just want to see him again."  
"I'll collect the X-rays and psych evaluations. I know what you are thinking. I know that look. Listen, I'm not getting overly invested; I'm barely handling evidence." Sara stared at him, as if challenging him to say that Jack was one big 'evidence'.

"Checking on him isn't protocol."

"We had a moment just now. I... I just want to see how he's doing and say goodbye."

"Okay."

* * *

She decided to turn up at the hospital asking questions about Robert Libby. The badge really came in handy at times. He was awake for a while before drifting off again. He reminded her a little of her mother. The day after she stabbed father to death, she was admitted to the hospital, sedated half the time. The other half of the time, she would just stare at nothing and mumble. The restraints were futile; there was no one in there.

* * *

Jack was reading a book about the solar system when Sara came.

"Jack, I just heard that your aunt will be fetching you to stay with her in Los Angeles." No response. "LA's nice, I think you will like it there."

He was at the last page of the book, and proceeded back to the beginning to read it again. She moved to sit by his side.

"You like solar systems huh? What's your favourite planet? Mine's Jupiter. It used to be Pluto but-"

"It's not really a planet now. I still love Pluto though." Jack finally replied. "I miss mom."

"I know. Look, I understand what you are going through, Jack. My... erm... mother has schizophrenia, she was hearing voices and my father... he wasn't a very good at being a dad and husband either and things got really bad... But I miss them so much sometimes. What I'm trying to say is... I _know_, Jack. You can talk to me. If you want."

"Da... Dad is always so angry. And I used to ask mom why. She said he wasn't always like this. He lost his job because a friend betrayed him years ago. Told me that I couldn't remember how much he loved me because I was just a baby. His brother died and he started to drink and gamble a lot after that."

He took an angry swipe at the tears accumulating around his eyes and continued, "People make mistakes. She used to say that a lot."

"He tried to kill me. He was standing there, holding the knife. Mom's blood was everywhere. Then he was coming towards me…" Jack's voice wavered as he couldn't control his emotions any longer.

"He's never going to hurt you again. You understand? You're safe now." She held him and continued, "It's going to be tough. But your life will get better. I've been in a similar situation once, remember? Your aunt will take care of you. You'll go to school, learn lots of cool stuff and make friends… And at times you'll miss your mom so much it hurts. It's going to be tough, but it'll get better…"

* * *

She went back again the next day to say her goodbyes, for real this time. If Grissom knew (of course he knew), he didn't mention anything.

"Jack, come here. This... This uhm... isn't protocol," she quickly took out a piece of scrap paper from her back pocket and scrambled her home and cell phone numbers, "I know how new environments can be... difficult. These are my numbers. Call me anytime."

Jack took the paper and memorised the numbers before putting it in his pocket. He would never forget it for the rest of his life. "Thank you, Sara." They hugged and she didn't really want to let go.

"Stay safe ok?"

She went straight to work after that. She was an hour early and decided to spend the time reading a forensics journal in the break room. A little while later, Catherine and Greg came in.  
"Hey, you're here. Heard you and Grissom were handling a domestic violence case. How is it going? "

"Final stages. Jack's moving to California with his aunt."

"Is he going to be ok?"

"Yeah, his aunt is going to take care of him. She has a kid close to his age, which is great I guess. Jack will have someone to relate to. " She continued, "So…what about your case?"

Greg replied, "Expectant mother realised the house was robbed after shopping for an insane amount of baby stuff. Turns out the robber is her neighbour's sitter."

"You should see the husband. The way he looks at her. Their interactions… I felt like I shouldn't be in the room." Catherine added.

"Goosebumps. That kid is going to be one lucky kid."

"Hey Sara, ever thought about having one?"

"What? A kid?" she slowly shook her head and continued, "We've seen too much. It's insane to bring a child in to this world after knowing the things we know."

"You don't really mean that. I can't wait to have kids, you know if I managed to find the right woman." He countered while looking pointedly at Sara.

"Yeah. Even in the craziest of days, there isn't a second that I regretted having Lindsey. Sometimes, I think it's her that keeps my sanity intact. What we see every day messes us up, but kids remind you that there's good in this world."

Just then, Grissom came in. "New cases. Sara and Catherine 419 at the Perlamo. Greg, you're with me."

* * *

They were comfortably resting in their home when Sara brought up a question, "Ever thought of having children?"

Grissom put down the magazine and frowned.

"I know you overheard our conversation in the break room."

"mm-" he cleared his throat and said, " I am not vehemently opposed to the idea of having children. But I know about your past, you know about my otosclerosis and our jobs… so I understand."

"Are you okay? Your father's anniversary is tomorrow and I know you have been visiting Jack."

"I'm fine. The circumstances were very different, but he reminded me of… me. The anger and the sorrow, the feeling of being abandoned and losing everything overnight." She scooted closer to him, where he wrapped his arms around her.

"After that small conversation earlier, I think having kids require a certain amount of optimism and courage. I have accepted my past, even though it plagues me once in a while. It's who I am, it makes me good at my job. What I can't handle is bringing a child into this world and being terrified that something might go wrong. I have neither optimism nor courage for that, Grissom."

"Okay. Me too. Me too, honey." He replied and kissed her forehead.

Sometime in the middle of the article he was reading, an idea began to take shape in Grissom's head. And that idea grew louder and louder, and it felt right. So he said it,

"How about a dog?"

* * *

**I haven't been writing in a long while and I forgot how fun it can be. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed reading it. Tell me what you think... :) **


End file.
